I'm curious about the history and culture of Norway. I don't know where else to post this.
I'm an American of Norwegian descent and know almost nothing about Norway beyond that they have an appreciation for lutefisk and skiing.
What are some general things I should know about the history, and culture? My family immigrated about a hundred years ago, nobody speaks Norwegian.
Also, general history of Scandinavia thread.
>I'm an American of Norwegian descent
>I don't know where else to post this.
Well you found the right boards at least, but prepare yourself for a torrent of absolute foolishness once our resident Nordicists start "explaining" how Norway was the source of every civilization on Earth and how Norwegians are descended from Atlanteans. There are some knowledgeable people on this board and if your thread stays up long enough one might show up, just don't count on it. I'd help but I honestly know nothing much about Norway.
Nothing at all wrong with taking an interest in your family history.
ask your fucking family then
i have a norwegian gf, ama
also if you dont speak the language and you dont know anything about it you aint norwegian, immigrated or not, theres a series in norway about the ppl like you, she used to laugh at it alot
some dudes went up there when the ice shelf pulled back some 10 000 years ago.
not much of importance happened other that those dudes discovered that there were allready some dudes way to the north of them (sami people)
Then around 700 AD these dude got around to building some really neat ships, got some nice smithing going and heard some rumours about land to the south west of them that was ripe for the plucking. And then we had vikings.
And the vikings pillaged, raped, and subjegated people around western europe and went on holliday to constantinople and brought back cool stuff.
Then christianity snuck up norways soft underbelly and by the year 1030 after the battle of stiklestad, (it was more a bro down as there were barely 10 000 people present, but for norway, that's alot of people), most of norway was converted. Some held out but they ended up being tortured to death by being forcefed a snake that would eat its way through their stomach. Some norse mythology snuck into the new religion and they ended up with weird churches like stavkirke.
Then not much happened, some kings came and went, some minor battles, some fucked off to iceland.
The the black death came and went in the 1350's, people died.
By the 1530's, Denmark said fuck it and took the whole shit over and they ruled Norway, the Swedes took offence, sent an army of 40 000 and it ended with their king being shot in the fucking head and another 6000 died in a snowstorm during the retreat. Denmark ran the show up untill 1814 century when Sweden saw fit to take over the shitshow when Denmark said fuck it and fucked off.
Then they ruled their pussywhipped little brother for about 100 years untill 1905 when Norway said they didnt want to take any shit anymore and they became a independent kingdom again.
Then the germans came in 1940 and fucked off in 1945 and norway struck gold with oil and became filthy fucking rich.
That's the broad strokes.
lol
Thanks for the warning. How could it possibly the source of every civilization?
Nobody in my family is alive that knows anything about it. Also, I never met some of my grandparents.
I never claimed to be Norwegian, my exact words were "of Norwegian descent".
What's the name of the series?
Informative, thank you.
I'd like to know more about the events leading up to independence, but I suppose I can research that. Also curious about Norway today, what are some of their cultural values? Like, are they conservative about I don't know, family and finances? Are they a sexually liberal society, or any common psychological issues? I get that they're all different unique people like anyone else, just wondering what common nationalistic sentiment tends to be. Do they hate Americans?
I am Norwegian, if you wanna ask questions.
>Named The Great Norwegian Adventure in the USA, Alt for Norge features a bunch of Norwegian-Americans competing for the chance to meet their Norwegian relatives.
>Are they a sexually liberal society, or any common psychological issues? I get that they're all different unique people like anyone else, just wondering what common nationalistic sentiment tends to be. Do they hate Americans?
You can take Sweden, dial the SJW retardedness down about 75% and you have Norway.
Gay rights, as far as I remember, abortion is legal, assisted suicide is illegal, weed is still illegal, but not heavily enforced and they're talking about decriminalizing possesion of user dosages of drugs, in other words, arrested for selling, not using. But it's still up in the air.
>or any common psychological issues?
not that I know of, depression and suicide rates is about the same as any first world country.
>Do they hate Americans?
They think USA is a pretty weird place where you get shot stepping out your front door, but I dont know anyone who hates the USA.
>Norwegian values
Skiing.
>Norwegian values
Oil and fish.
>Skiing
>fatty meat, loads of pork
>love hot dogs
> drinking like madman
> foraging
> having your own little summer hut somewhere at a fjord or lake to chill with family
Basically its a lot of outdoor sports and foraging/hunting in their freetime.
Very very good people too.
Oh forgot to add.
Amazing folklore which is still alive today.
Trolls are a big thing, many many stories about them and a lot of people believe they are real.
Me included.
me again And they love their king. Dont talk shit about their king. He's like everyones third grandpa.
The king has no real power other than symbolic. The king and queen serve more a representative role for Norway than a governing one.
And norway is rich enough to larp as a kingdom, even though they're running it similarly like the UK.
Hes the people king and the master of bantz.
Hes such a cool dude.
t. half german half norwegian
skiing is a pasttime, not a value
oil and fish are commodities, not values
>bawww americans stole my lunch money
>bawwww stop talking about history and humanities and look at my memes
Good lord, OP sure brought out the attention whores today.
The king is actually Danish. He was born in Denmark by Danish parents.
Well the english queen is german.
Royalty has always been switched around everywhere.
>The king is actually Danish. He was born in Denmark by Danish parents.
nope, Current king is 1/4th danish. He was born in Norway. The last king (Olav) was 1/2 danish and his father (Haakon VII) was Danish.
>irrelevant shithole
>vikings
>irrelevant shithole
>find oil
>rich irrelevant shithole
You must be american.
fucking mutts.
>skiing is a pasttime, not a value
Not in Norway.
>Shit u rite
I was thinking about Olav V. But still, Olav V was Harald V's father, and he was born in Denmark by Danish parents. That'd make Olav V Danish. However, Harald V was born in Norway by Danish parents. Norwegian nationality law is based on the principle of "jus sanguinis", which means Norwegian citizenship is conferred by birth to a Norwegian parent, as opposed to "jus soil", where if your born in a country, you automatically born with the country's citizenship (eg. USA).
However, in my opinion, a citizenship is just a formality. If you feel Norwegian, you are Norwegian. Olav V was a fine Norwegian, because he kindly represented the country for the people, of the peoeple and by the peope.
Do different regions of Norway still differ significantly from each other, on a cultural level? For example, are their regional dialects or customs, such as in the American south? Or is everyone the same general kind of Norwegian?
Interesting, it does look kind of funny. I wonder if they'd take me lol.
Interesting, more level-headed than Sweden. It sounds similar to where I live. It is a pretty weird place honestly.
Cool, I like some of those things.
What do you mean by "very very good"? As in, kind or compassionate? Are they doormats, or do they generally believe strongly in social rules of politeness? Would you say they're a culture that highly values success in business, or something else like quality time with family?
Where can I get dem troll stories. The folklore also seems big in America, too.
Speaking of similarity to the UK, why didn't Norway join the EU?
bantz?
I forgot to add:
>Harald V is tehcnically Danish.
>Olav V was a great Norwegian, despite being Danish.
>Do different regions of Norway still differ significantly from each other, on a cultural level? For example, are their regional dialects or customs, such as in the American south? Or is everyone the same general kind of Norwegian?
Different regions of Norway differ slightly from each other on a cultural level. For example, there are regional dialects that differ quite alot. County dialetcs, that differ slightly. And municipal dialects, that only differ in slang and idiolects. There are customs that differ eacother 100 years ago, such as fishing/hunting techniques and preferences and cooking style, as well as fashion trends, however, these are irrelevant today and only really shown during special events, such as 17th of May, weddings and Christian confirmations.
>such as in the American south?
There are vast differences between North and South. Many people in the North feel like theyre mostly neglected by the bureaucrats down South on apolitical scale.
Today, due to American cultural infuelce, everyone is the same general kind of Norwegian. But there is the most difference between North ans South, as stated before.
*On a political scale.
>Fuck my keyboard.
>>I'm an American of Norwegian descent
WE
Here, mutt
> en.wikipedia.org
>Do different regions of Norway still differ significantly from each other, on a cultural level? For example, are their regional dialects or customs, such as in the American south? Or is everyone the same general kind of Norwegian?
I have been all over Norway. First and foremost it's the dialects, then the different face structure types (I am water tight at this as when I first thought of someone being from Trondelag, spoke bokmål, revealed himself to be of Tronder parents who moved east), lastly the stereotypes: south being overly christian and innocent, the most well meaning people on earth. Trondelag: practical people, easily angered, destilling moonshine and twirling their moustaches. And the west, and the north etc.
...
>posing a Finnish man to mock Norwegians
DU ER FAEN MEG IKKE NORSK DIN FORBANNA KJOTER
>Speaking of similarity to the UK, why didn't Norway join the EU?
Because they would gain nothing from it and lose alot of shit, mainly exclusivity to their own fishing areas which the spanish have been eyeing since the 17th century.
Then they struck oil and EU came knocking another time and it just felt opportunistic and nobody wanted it.
In the end, some retard managed to slip in some trading deal which no one likes or care for, but for SOLIDARITY with the rest of Europe, we have to.
Thanks for your time and insight. I'm learning a lot.
Just to clarify, I'm not trying to LARP, despite my northern European ancestry I fully and 100% identify as an American and a Texan, where I was born and raised and still live to this day. I would never call myself Norwegian, as I feel that would be an insult to actual residents and citizens of the nation today, which I am not. I am Texan.
Also, my ancestors migrated 100 years ago and I imagine Norway was a very different place, they were always poor farmers in the frontier of the Midwest and never saw any of that oil money.
I've heard about the different traditional dress styles, it seems to make sense that in modern times things like that are becoming irrelevant. Sounds like they're not that different and today Norway is pretty homogeneous, not so varied like with the difference between mandarin and Cantonese in China.
What are some key differences between north and south? From what little I know, most of my family is from Bergen, and Telemark. I suppose that would make them southern?
It also seems to make sense that the north is neglected, seeing as most large population centers are located further south. Was northern Norway always part of Norway? I get that borders have changed when Denmark and Sweden were in control, but did the north historically align more with Sweden? Or were they always culturally and linguistically Norwegian? Also have the Sami ever had any influence on politics before modern times?
Interesting, thank you. I'm curious about the face structure types, how are they different?
Fascinating. So modern Norwegians are greedy?
I'm a norwegian from the west coast, ama
Why are you so awkward and autistic
It's interesting how no American can try to identify with his *actual* ancestors without being called a mutt, "we wuzzer", or a LARPer on here.
Congrats on your incestuous genes and A. rich ancestors able to stay in the country or B. poor ancestors unable to leave the country.
>Congrats on your incestuous genes and A. rich ancestors able to stay in the country or B. poor ancestors unable to leave the country
>Texan
>not trying to larp
my respectable nigga
>Fascinating. So modern Norwegians are greedy?
nah, considering they have one of the most generous wellfare system in the world, no. They're just not willing to throw money onboard a sinking ship. (thanks greece)
In reality the vote in 1994 ended on 52.2 % against and 47.8 for, so it was pretty split down the middle with the right side for and left against. There were lots of reasons why many didnt want to join the EU, the main argument was that they didnt want to be governed by bureaucrats in brussel that didnt have they interests in mind.
And the Norwegian Krone remains one of the most stable currencies thanks to that.
content.time.com
Norway really dodged the Euro bullet there and came out of the 2008 crash pretty much without a scratch.
Though their oil industry has taken a few punches in the last 2 years, they have invested their money in so much shit they can almost run the country off interests alone. But's thats just almost.
Their oil and investment fund tipped the 1 trillion dollar mark in 2017. For a country who has a population of 5.3 million people, thats alot of money.
money.cnn.com
>Why are you so awkward and autistic
If you are serious.
Norwegians are a weird bunch.
You have to consider the geography of Norway. It's pretty much mountains and fjords with exception of the low lands near the coasts.
People lived very isolated for a millenia, on small farms in the valleys and people didnt travel much unless they had to, and if they had to they prefered traveling by boat as you had to travel across alot of mountains and valleys if you wanted to travel cross country.
Another thing to consider is the weather. It's summer for about 4 months, the rest shifts between cold rainy autum/springs seasons and long stretches of winter, so understandably, people stayed home.
Also, protestantism didnt exactly make the Norwegians more outgoing.
I am only speculating here so dont take any of this to seriously.
Norway has also lived in the shadow of it's "brother" Sweden, who most people know of, but when you ask someone about Norway, their first response would almost always be something along the lines of "Norway, isnt that a city in Sweden?"
So Norwegians always becomes excited when someone gives them a little bit of attention.
Norway and Norwegians is an acquired taste.
>What are some key differences between north and south?
The different regions are more nuanced than North and South. The least you can get away with is 5 regions like in the OP picture, but even that has its shortcomings. For example, the cultural differences between the Oslo Metropolitan Area and the surrounding East Norway can be pretty huge.
In general, there are regional cultural differences, but these may or may not be larger than differences between rural and urban populations.
Norwegians are very nationalistic compared to oter nations. May 17. is celebrated by everyone. Regional patriotism is also very common. Regional dialects are very common and distinct. You can tell where people are from by their dialect and most Norwegians think that people with different dialects sound like faggots.
Since you’re texan you should know about the norwegian oil cowboys who would extract any oil they came over to texas
I'm really impressed with the responses here, I I figured it'd just be people making fun of me, or memes about "snow-niggers".
Anyway this might seem like a strange question, but this thread has me thinking. What's Norway's stance on the migrant crisis? Do people generally feel welcoming or resistant to large numbers of Muslims entering the country?
Thanks. I'll admit I do love Renaissance festivals, but not the same way some people do. I go mainly for the shows, art, and the food.
I see, seems reasonable. I guess it's pretty cool that they're one of the few countries in Europe that chose to stay out. So not greedy, but wise investors. Thanks for clarifying that.
Interesting, that all makes sense actually. Thank you for painting the picture for me.
Speaking of Sweden, is there still beef between the two countries? From what I've heard both parties are still bitter about stuff that went down in the past. Is it just political? Because I feel most people would say both cultures seem incredibly similar.
I see. What's the coolest parts of Norway, if I wanted to visit?
That's funny, but I think those sentiments are common pretty much in every country. I wish I spoke the language enough to know the difference between dialects.
I don't know much about that actually. Myself, nor any of my family work in the petroleum industry, and the most I know about it I learned from school about the oil boom and spindletop and such. Which oddly happened to have occurred yesterday 117 years ago.
> From what I've heard both parties are still bitter about stuff that went down in the past.
Like what? The Norway Sweden relationship is pretty similar to the relationship USA have with Canada. They share alot of history and have very similar cultures. To the untrained eye, identical. The language is similar so they understand eachother without having to learn each others language.
>their first response would almost always be something along the lines of "Norway, isnt that a city in Sweden?"
why are you americans so stupid
what a retard, they stay out of the EU because of MUH FISH
and apply every other legislation aswell as part of schengen free movement zone
their welfare system isnt anything special
you dumb fucking anglo monkey
I do like you Norweigans.
T. Icelandic
tell me about western norwegian stereotypes, a relative recently moved to Ålesund to marry a Norwegian and I want to bring the bants
My Dad is from Tromso and my mom i from a small area on Senja in Troms called Torsken, I have a very fucked up dialect.
Farmers and hillbillies.
wrong? thats east norway
They love football and are very loud
They also send a Christmas tree to Germany every winter as a thank you for bombing Molde
Shit, sorry. I have a problem where I confuse left and right, and West and East.
No, you have the one of the best dialects. Trust me, I know.
The consensus seems to be Lofoten if you are after unique experiences. Norwegian cities are small and not very distinct from other places.
The landscape of Norway's western coast, however, is very distinct due to millions of years of glaciers and storms ripping apart its mountains. The most extreme part, Lofoten is the small archipelago extending into the Norwegian Sea from the middle of Northern Norway.
Sa han at han var Norsk? Ro ned autismen din